Especially if you have just read a book about composition and all the classic compositional rules. But just the right amount of out of focus.įinally, his use of framing is simply mind blowing. His use of misted windows serves the same purpose. You may think that out of focus is harder than in focus, but actually getting the right amount of out of focus is the key here – so that the subject is still visible and recognisable, but hiding the finer details and only leave a shadow or an outline. These quotes very well describe why I find Leiters work so extraordinary, and to this I will add that his use of out of focus elements sprinkles a bit of mystery to the scene. Again, this very precisely pinpoints another dimension to Leiters images that makes them stand out: the subject is not dominating, but serves (almost) as a prop in a bigger composition as one of many elements. A talent that many of us that dream of travelling to the other side of the globe to capture something extraordinary (like a mountain or an iceberg) could benefit from being reminded of on a regular basis.įurther into the book Michael quotes Robert Benton for describing Leiters images: “ were like paintings in which the subject matter did not dominate the photograph but was only one element among swaths of color, abstract shapes and daring composition”.

Leiter was truly able to make something extraordinary out of the ordinary. When Michael Parello writes that “Leiter was a keen observer as life unfolded before him, somehow finding a way to reliably pluck a sublime split-second out of a mundane moment”, it really resonated with me and how I see Leiters images.

The 160 pages book is a hardback and measures 22 cm across and 28 cm down.

It works really well, and IMO they have managed to capture the “feel” of slide film being projected to large scale format really well. The book presents the images on completely black pages, simulating that you sit in front of the projector and see Leiters work being cast onto the wall. In this book the authors Margit Erb and Michael Parillo have hand picked 76 images from Saul Leiters earlier work where he used slide film as the medium.

Margit erb